my heart racing all over again.
“Wow,” I say, whistling. “You’re killing me here.”
She blushes and laughs. “It was dry and warm,” she says. “I forgot to put my tank top by the fire, so it’s still a little damp.”
She walks over to where I’m standing and wraps her arms around my waist. Man, I could get used to this.
“Speaking of our fire, I’m going to have to start over,” I say. “We might be here for a while, and it’s supposed to get pretty chilly tonight.”
“Oh my gosh, I need to call my dad,” she says, pulling away and running toward the house. “I bet he’s worried sick.”
I follow her inside and get her phone from my duffel bag where I stashed it earlier to save it from the downpour.
“Crap, it’s almost dead,” she says, dialing. She bites at her thumbnail as she waits for him to answer. Finally, she shakes her head. “He’s not answering.”
“He’s probably at the bar still doing inventory,” I say. “Or watching TV.”
“He’s always forgetting to take his phone with him,” she says. “I’ll try the bar.”
She lifts the phone to her ear, and I duck back outside to grab the wood. When I come back in, she’s talking to Knox.
“Hey, Knox. It’s Jo. Is Daddy there with you?” she asks. She frowns. “Is he okay?”
I stack the wood in the fireplace, but keep an eye on her reactions.
“Okay, well can you let him know that Colton and I got stuck in the rain?” She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “No, we’re fine. We couldn’t make it back to your house, so we’re hiding out at his grandpa’s old cabin for a while. We’ll head back once the rain stops.”
She pauses and laughs. I release the breath I’ve been holding. For a second there, I thought maybe something had happened to her dad. In my mind I was already brainstorming ways to get her home in this rain.
“No, you don’t have to do that,” she says. “Listen, there’s no power out here and my phone is almost dead, so if you don’t hear from me in the morning, maybe come get us, okay? I’ll put Colton on the phone and he can tell you where we are.”
She holds the phone out to me.
“It’s Knox,” she whispers.
“Hey,” I say. “Do you know where Old Porter Road is?”
“Not a clue,” Knox says with a laugh.
The phone beeps telling me I’m almost out of time to explain it.
“About a mile down from where we turn off to get to your house, there’s a little dirt road on the left with no sign,” I say. “It’s across from the Martin’s farm. If you go down that way for a bit, the road will come to a T. Turn left and follow it all the way down. That’s where you’ll find us. Hopefully the rain will cool off at some point and we’ll be able to make a break for it.”
“I didn’t realize you had a cabin out there,” Knox says.
The phone beeps again.
“This phone is about out of juice, so I’ll have to explain it to you later,” I say. “But we’ll text you if we make it home.”
“If I wake up in the morning and the boat’s back, I’ll know you made it,” he says. “If not, I’ll head out there and check on you guys. And Colton?”
“Yes?”
“Take care of my cousin, okay? She may act tough, but she’s more fragile than she seems.”
I nod even though I know he can’t see me. “I will,” I say.
And as I watch her loading more wood onto the stack, her hair wild and free and a smile on her face, I realize I’ve never wanted to take care of anything more than I do her.
“What did he say?” she asks. She looks so good wearing my shirt, I can barely answer.
She has me breathless.
“He said if we aren’t home by morning, he’ll come rescue us,” I say. Although I swear I could spend the rest of my life right here in this cabin with her. No rescue necessary.
“So, are you going to get this fire going, or what?” she asks with a smile.
“Yes, ma’am,” I say. “I am at your service, Boss.”
She narrows her eyes. “We’re not going back to that again, are we?”
“If the shoe fits,” I say with a shrug.
She smacks my arm, but the smile on her face tells me everything I need to know. She’s happy, and right now that’s the only